1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an ultrasound diagnosis apparatus, and in particular to an improvement in an arm mechanism which supports a display unit.
2. Description of the Related Art
An ultrasound diagnosis apparatus is a device which forms an ultrasound image based on a reception signal obtained by transmission and reception of an ultrasound and displays the formed image. The ultrasound image is displayed on a display mounted on the body of the apparatus. Although CRT (cathode ray tube) display have been commonly used in the related art, it is expected that use of flat panel displays such as liquid crystal displays and plasma displays will increase. Arm mechanisms are commonly used to support the display with the body of the apparatus (such as a housing, a support column, an operation panel, etc.), and such arm mechanisms generally have a plurality of joint sections so that the position and orientation of the display can be varied.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,669,639 relates to an ultrasound diagnosis apparatus and discloses an arm mechanism on which a CRT is mounted as a display. The arm mechanism comprises a first arm and a second arm. Each arm has a shape of a flat plate and extends in a slanted direction. At a connection section between the first arm and the second arm, a rotation mechanism is provided. At the connection section, an axis of the first arm and the axis of the second arm intersect each other at an acute angle. If a cable for the display is routed inside the connection section, the cable may be damaged due by repeated operation of the rotation mechanism over time, while if the cable is provided outside of the arm mechanism, the cable may block movement of the display or operation on the operation panel and the appearance would be degraded. International Patent Publication No. WO2005/074806 relates to an ultrasound diagnosis apparatus and discloses an arm mechanism on which a flat panel display is mounted as a display. At a connection section between a first arm and a second arm, a rotation mechanism is provided. The second arm comprises a parallel linkage so that the slanted angle of the second arm can be varied. Complex mechanisms are present inside the arm mechanism, in particular, in the second arm, and in the connection section. Therefore, it is difficult to thread a cable through the inside of the arm mechanism, and, when the cable passage is threaded, there is a possibility that the cable may be damaged, especially as it is threaded through the connection section.
In order to avoid unnecessarily blocking the movement of the display by the cable extending from the display and to not block the operation of the operation panel by the cable in an ultrasound diagnosis apparatus, it is desirable to route the cable through the inside of the arm mechanism. However, with such a configuration, if a bent structure with an acute angle is employed in the connection section similar to the related art, the cable tends to be damaged at the connection section, or the movement of the arm mechanism may be blocked. In consideration of exchange and maintenance of the display, it is desirable that the cable can be easily passed through and easily extended from the arm mechanism, and, thus, a threading structure which does not forcefully bend, but rather naturally curves, the cable is desired.